Global Environmental and Humanitarian Education Program for Youth

In February of 1991, a small group of Tanzanian students gathered with Jane Goodall on the porch of her home in Dar es Salaam. The students shared Goodall’s fascination for animals and concern for the environment and wanted to know what they could do to make the world a better place.

The students decided to form clubs in each of their schools. That modest beginning spawned JGI’s Roots & Shoots global environmental and humanitarian education program for youth. Today Roots & Shoots has registered 8,000 groups in 96 countries.

Each group, whether suburban U.S. elementary schoolers or youngsters living in Shanghai, tackles local hands-on projects to make its world a better place—projects for the human community, for animals, and for the environment we all share.

The program is designed to be youth driven and emphasizes the principle that knowledge leads to compassion, which inspires action. Groups select service projects after they have surveyed their communities to better understand local issues and problems.

Learn More About WSU’s Roots and Shoots Group

The Washington State University Pullman Roots & Shoots group meets regularly on campus. For details: